Chapter 4
The news
The next morning...
Declan woke up with a heavy head. He winced and pinched his forehead.
"Hmm… My head is splitting," he mumbled.
As he tried to get up, he felt heaviness in his arm. He opened his eyes with a squint and found a woman clinging to him with her arm around his waist. He instinctively pushed her away.
Yasmin rolled down from the bed and fell to the floor.
Thump…
"Ouch… Mommy…" Yasmin sat up slowly, rubbing her aching brow.
Declan sat up abruptly and looked at the woman, his eyebrows furrowing. He slowly remembered that he had married the day before, and the woman was his newly wedded wife.
"Ugh…" He pressed his forehead with his hand and looked aside. "Shit…" he cursed under his breath when he looked back at her, only to see her scowling at him.
"Are you okay?" he asked, drawing his hand down.
Yasmin was so mad that she wanted to slam the night lamp on his head. Her face turned red in anger and her fists clenched.
'He pushed me down first. Now he is asking whether I am okay or not.'
She got to her feet and leaned on the bed.
Declan leaned backward unwittingly, his eyes widening.
She reached out for her glasses next to the pillow and put them on.
"You have a very unique way of waking me up," she hissed.
"I…" He scratched his head. "Sometimes I kick while sleeping, you know. You have to put up with it."
"Yeah. I get it. But you have to keep in mind that I am also sleeping here. Please don't kick me down the next time." She stormed into the bathroom.
"Ugh…" Declan slammed his fist against his brow, mortified. At the same time, he became enraged. It was the first time a woman scolded him, and he listened to her quietly. He wondered how he could allow her to talk to him like that.
What happened to his self-esteem? Where had his authoritarian aura vanished?
The more he thought, the more enraged he became. His hands curled into fists, and his nostrils flared. He had the impression that he was growing larger and larger and that the room was closing in on him. If he didn't get out of here, he would explode and smash everything around him. He clambered down from the bed and went out of the room in haste.
He came down to the hallway and sat on the sofa.
"Harry, my coffee," he said as he took the tabloid from the coffee table.
'Declan Wilson became a laughingstock at his wedding.' It was the first thing he saw on the front page of the tabloid.
He sat upright, his eyes widening. He became more enraged with each word he read.
'Declan Wilson's bride ran away from the wedding venue. Some guests said she eloped with her beau, while others speculated that she fled due to rumors that Declan's homosexuality…'
"What the…" He crushed the tabloid into a ball and sprang to his feet.
Harry, the butler, came over to him with a cup of coffee. "Your coffee." He put the cup on the table.
"Throw it away," Declan snapped before heading back to his room.
Harry turned around and looked at his receding form, his jaw falling apart.
Declan stormed into the room and saw Yasmin exiting the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her torso. He abruptly stopped on the track, the paper ball slipping out of his grip. He locked his gaze on her, his mouth agape. His heart started racing all of a sudden.
'Sexy...' was the first word that came to mind.
His gaze drifted from her face to her sleek shoulders. Her skin was smooth and impeccable. The water droplets on her shoulders glowed under the light like diamonds.
His eyes followed the water drops that disappeared under the towel over her breasts. He swallowed the lump in his throat as he gazed at her round boobs. He could feel his crotch tightening. His eyes dropped down to her exposed legs, which were parted slightly.
'Fuck…' His crotch grew even tighter. He wished he could drag her to the bed right away and have sex with her.
Yasmin's skin pricked under his sultry gaze. Her hands flew up as she tried to cover her boobs.
"Pervert…" she grumbled as she went into the closet.
Declan came to his senses. He vaguely heard her say 'pervert', but he was unsure if she said that.
"Did she just call me a pervert?" he murmured, frowning. He scratched his head and walked into the bathroom, still unsure if he had heard correctly.
Yasmin changed into a white skirt and a black crop top. She combed her shoulder-length brunette hair and let it fall freely. After putting on light make-up and applying nude lipstick, she came out of the closet.
As she walked out of the room, she saw the paper ball beside the settee. She frowned a little as she bent down to pick it up.
"Why did he crush it?" she mumbled as she opened it.
She saw the headline, 'Declan Wilson became a laughingstock at his wedding.'
"Oh, shit…"
"What are you doing?" Declan grumbled and snatched the paper from her grasp.
Yasmin turned to him frantically, startled. She felt small in the face of his intimidating appearance. She subconsciously took a step back.
"Don't read it," he snarled. "They have written nothing but shit."
Declan ripped the tabloid and threw the shredded pieces of paper into the trash. He inched towards her, holding his index finger. He opened his mouth to say something but paused momentarily before turning around and walking into the closet.
Yasmin gaped at his back, dumbfounded. "What was that?" she murmured in a trance. "Huh…" She sulked. "I would better go grab something to eat. I am already starving." She strode out.
When she walked down the hallway, a man in his forties came over to her.
"Good morning, madam." He bowed a little to her. "I am Harry, the butler of this house."
"Good morning, Harry." She offered him a smile. "I am starving. Would you please give me something to eat?"
"Of course, Madam. Breakfast is ready. I will serve it to you. Please come this way." He motioned for her to come along.
Yasmin followed him into the dining area that was open to the hall. She found a young maid serving the breakfast.
Pancakes, toasts, scrambled eggs, congee, dumplings, and many other dishes were on display on the six-seater table. A fruit basket in the center of the table was brimming with apples, pears, oranges, grapes, and bananas.
Yasmin stalled and gaped at the table. She lost her appetite, looking at so many eatables. She wondered who would finish these.
"Are there any guests coming?" she asked, gazing up at Harry.
Harry chuckled, shaking his head. "No, no. I don't know what you like to eat. So, I asked the kitchen staff to prepare various dishes. You can tell Amy whatever you want to eat." He directed his fingers to the young maid standing beside the table.
Yasmin smiled at Amy, who also smiled back at her.
She took her seat and grabbed an apple. She took a bite and munched on it.
Harry and Amy exchanged nervous glances.
"I will cut some apples for you," Amy said as she took a couple of apples.
"No need." Yasmin stopped her. "One is enough for me. I will have this." She took the bowl of congee.
Amy glanced at Harry as she put the apples back in the basket.
In the meantime, Declan walked into the dining hall wearing a white shirt and gray pants. He frowned when he saw Yasmin taking a bite of an apple.
"Why didn't you cut the apples, Harry?" he asked as he took his seat, his tone cold.
Harry hung his head down, not knowing what to say.
Yasmin stopped munching and stared at him. "I like eating apples this way," she said after swallowing the lump.
Declan glanced at her as he put a pancake on his plate and doused it with maple syrup. He cut a piece using a knife and fork and stuffed it into his mouth.
Yasmin kept watching him eat in a trance as if she had never seen someone eat. Declan was enticing in every way. He bewitched her with how he held the knife and fork, ate, the way he sat with his back straight, and dressed up.
She was so engrossed in staring at him that she forgot to eat her apple.
"I will be late tonight," Declan said once he finished eating. He grabbed a tissue from the table and wiped his mouth. "Don't cook dinner for me. Ask Madam what she prefers to eat." He stood up and walked away.
Harry followed him in a hurry. He grabbed the gray coat and a briefcase from the sofa and followed him out of the house.
Yasmin blinked and gaped at their departing forms, gradually returning to reality.
"He could have said the same thing to me," she muttered, pouting.
She took a big bite of the apple and munched on it furiously.